From left, Bulloch Hall Quilt Guild Vice President Helga Diggelmann and event co-chairs Marie Wood and Lisa Walker will be helping host the 31st Annual Great American Cover Up Quilt Show at Bulloch Hall.

With time on her hands and a long New Hampshire winter ahead, newly retired Marie Wood said she was faced with two choices if she wanted to keep busy but still spend time with some friends.

“It was play cards or quilting. That’s when I learned how to quilt,” the Johns Creek resident said with a laugh.

Twenty years later, Wood is co-chairing the 31st Annual Great American Cover-Up Quilt Show with fellow Bulloch Hall Quilt Guild member Lisa Walker. The Guild-sponsored event is at historic Bulloch Hall in Roswell from March 9 through 17.

As many as 180 quilts of varying sizes will be on display throughout the antebellum home. Some will be hanging and others will be draped over furniture as part of the house décor.

“We really like this venue,” Wood said. “Most quilt shows are held in convention centers or big halls. Here they look like a natural feature.”

The visual appeal of an exhibition of quilts lies in the color and patterns and the quality of workmanship, either by hand or machine sewn, Wood said.

“Machine making is much more common these days. You can do a small quilt like that in just one day. We have several in the show like that. But we also have a special section for larger, hand appliquéd and hand quilted pieces,” Wood said.

In addition to traditional patterns, many quilters have embraced the more personal expressions of original art and landscapes. Helga Diggelmann, a Guild member who also lives in Johns Creek, finds the challenge of bringing her own unique visions to life in quilts exhilarating.

“It’s a wonderful creative outlet. It’s both artistic and mechanical and very satisfying,” she said. “My favorite part is doing the design and then seeing it come to fruition translated into fabric.”

Each year, the Guild selects charities that the show will benefit. The quilts in the show are donated by Guild members to the nonprofits to auction.

This year those nonprofits are the Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative and Fisher House Foundation, which provides free or low cost lodging to veterans and military families receiving treatment at military medical centers.

The Great Cover-Up Quilt Show hours will be 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $8 for adults and $4 for children. Bulloch Hall is located at 180 Bulloch Avenue, Roswell.

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